New Yorkers Gain Expanded Access to NYPD Officers’ Records
Jillian Snider, a former NYPD officer and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, warns that the tool could instead make policing more difficult.
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A new online database created by the Legal Aid Society’s Cop Accountability Project (CAP) allows users to search through thousands of records including NYPD officer misconduct investigations, civil lawsuits, and district attorney letters obtained by the organization over the years, reports Samantha Max for Gothamist. The tool is meant to be an easy way for New Yorkers to better understand the systems at play when officers are accused of misconduct and allow anyone to identify potential patterns of misbehavior following bad encounters.
Jennvine Wong, staff attorney for CAP, told Gothamist that she expects the tool will also be helpful for researchers doing criminal justice work and reporters as a one-stop resources for records that are usually spread across multiple data sources. Jillian Snider, a former NYPD officer and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, warns that the tool could instead make policing more difficult. “I’m more fearful that cops will hesitate to take necessary action out of fear that they will be completely scrutinized and portrayed that what they did was wrong and unjustifiable,” Snider said.
